Austin ISD schools will remain open today despite Travis County’s declaration of a local disaster during the solar eclipse. A projected 1 million people will be visiting Texas to view the eclipse, the first of its kind in the region for over 300 years, and surrounding districts such as Hays CISD, Manor ISD, Lake Travis ISD, Dripping Springs ISD will be canceling classes. 

An Austin ISD press release explains the choice for schools to remain open is for educational purposes. 

The press release says they are working closely with city and county officials to ensure that keeping schools open will “not have an adverse impact on the region.”

“Ultimately, we know the safest place for our students is our schools,” the statement said. “Without our resources, thousands of students could miss out on this event.” 

Lake Travis ISD released a statement saying they would be canceling classes due to “a number of safety and operational concerns.” 

“As a result [of the eclipse], local officials and first responders anticipate a significant influx of visitors for this extraordinary event, straining local infrastructure and resources and potentially impacting school operations,” Lake Travis ISD said. “The decision to close our schools reflects a commitment to ensuring the safety and well-being of students and staff during this once-in-a-lifetime experience.” 

An unconfirmed number of McCallum teachers and substitute teachers have called out of work for the eclipse. Principal Andy Baxa says the school hasn’t seen this many unfilled positions “since the COVID days.”

To combat the lack of staff multiple classes will be combined in spaces such as the cafeteria and the gym. 

In a poll shared on the @macjournalism instagram page on Friday, 48% of respondents said they would be absent today for the eclipse while the other 52% expected to be in the classroom. Respondents included both students and teachers. 

Junior Julia Roberts shared that her first period class only had nine students in attendance. Junior Miles Baade says that his physics class had “around 12 people missing,” and his engineering class had “10 people missing.” 

“We are doing a group project with groups of six people each and in one of the groups not a single student was there,” Baade said.

Senior Matthew Cagle decided to stay home because he “doesn’t trust the school” to properly put on the solar eclipse event. 

“I’m envisioning a fire drill-esque experience with me being crowded into a small designated area, and I get to sit there for a couple minutes and look at it then slowly shuffle back in,” Cagle said. 

Rather than experience the eclipse from school, Cagle plans to view it with friends from Lake Austin. 

Weather permitting, classes will be released at 1:15 p.m. to move to their designated viewing location. The list of viewing locations was distributed to teachers on Friday. Students can anticipate a location along the Grover Avenue side of the school, but if it’s raining, the plan will be adjusted accordingly.

The National Weather Service provided the following update at 11:45 a.m.:

“A slight chance of showers, then showers and thunderstorms likely after 2 p.m. Patchy fog before 1pm. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 80. South southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a 10th of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.”

 

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A statement from Travis County urges residents to plan accordingly for the Eclipse with “heavy traffic” volumes being predicted, as well as a strain on local resources such as first responders. The following tips were provided: 

• Plan ahead for heavy traffic all day Monday, April 8, 2024, especially after the eclipse when people leave at the same time
• Work from home that day if you can
• Make non-urgent appointments for a different day if you can
• Get gas and groceries and run other errands before the eclipse day
• Watch at home or pick a location near home to watch
• Don’t stop in the middle of the road or on shoulders to watch the eclipse
• If you will be traveling somewhere to watch the eclipse, download What3Words on your phone, which will help first responders find you in an emergency

To safely enjoy the eclipse, the statement from Travis County warns you will need specialized solar viewing glasses. It is not safe to look directly at the sun.